Carry On
by IcySpoiler
Summary: This story follows Red Robin as he investigates a dark organization that is even more widespread than he can ever imagine. Tim has to take charge of his life while being forced to look at his past. Somehow, he lands on Earth-16 where everything seems so much more hopeful, even if a bit twisted at times.
1. Investigation

So, this has just been an idea of mine for awhile now. This fanfic will mostly be for me to practice writing and all that. Sorry if the continuity is off, since I either just go by memory or from what I've been told generally. Don't take this too seriously since there are bound to be plenty of mistakes.

Disclaimer-

I own none of these wonderful people besides the people I make up and even those can be sketchy sometimes. I own nothing unfortunately.

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Stopping wasn't an option. This...thing that he has become drives his quest constantly, without breaks, without emotion, without friends... It's almost ironic how everything turned out. Tim used to be somewhat happy with himself...with everything. He trained intensely and became the Robin that Batman needed so desperately after Jason's death. Although Tim always knew he and Bruce had a lot in common, he always thought that he would be able to control the darkness, that he'd be different somehow. What a joke that was. Life has a way of taking all of your hopes and dreams, and devouring them all. His father, Stephanie, Bart, Kon, Bruce. They were all gone. Tim became Red Robin, a darkened version of himself.

But now so many of them are back. Stephanie, Bart, Kon, and even Bruce! They look at him and wonder what on earth's wrong with him. He's not the person they let behind, and it kills him that he can no longer be that person. It's like being an outsider amongst the ones that you've been closest to your entire life, and there's nothing that you can do but sit there and pretend that all is okay.

And that brings Tim here. On a mission, alone, and ready to take down whatever bad guy behind all this.

There has been talk on the streets about a secret organization bent on 'destroying the world' and all that good stuff. Their motives were unclear, but not especially important. It all becomes the same after awhile. All the thugs were referring to them as HUNT. Tim had yet to figure out what it stood for, although he was starting to get an idea from what he had heard.

As soon as he pinpointed its location to Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, Tim knew he should've called in for backup. He still wanted to check for himself first before getting his friends involved though. So far, the so called 'headquarters' had been easy enough to break into. It was a huge building in the middle of town acting as a high school by day (that's a scary thought) and a villain's meetinghouse by night. All he had to do was pretend he was a student at Happy Harbor Prep (that includes wearing a uniform that he, uh, borrowed), get in to 'study', then hide until the scumbags came out to play.

That may be awhile considering that it is only 5 PM (the latest that students are allowed to stay). Tim, not liking to stand idle, decides to search for anything unusual. Just his luck, an older janitor with large glasses and squeaky shoes rounds the corner as soon as he comes out of the classroom he was hiding in.

"Hey son, we're a'closing right now. Come back tomorrow morning if ya need ta so bad," called the squinting, old man down the hall.

Tim gives a slight nod and adjusts his tie.

"Sorry, I was just leaving."

While turning away, an idea comes to him.

"Excuse me, but is it okay if I ask how long you've been working here, mister...uh," Tim purposely stuttered.

"Sprouse. Colin Sprouse, kid. Ya'd think this school would have every student know my name with all the work I've done here. I've worked here for over three years now, but I worked at the original school for even longer."

"The original?," Tim had a feeling he knew already.

"Don't you know? The original Happy Harbor Prep was blown to bits by those Junior Justice League, punks during one of their escapades," Mr. Sprouse spat.

"Uh, yeah. Young Justice, I believe,"

Tim was trying to sound clueless, although it was hard to when he remembered the entire thing. Metallo had landed nearby, looking for revenge against Robin and Superboy. Long story short, the battle was brought to a school where, surprise, surprise, the entire building was destroyed. Tim had been taking in all the damage, while Kon was gloating.

"That's what happens when you mess with the 'S'!" Kon had shouted.

Robin picked up an old yearbook when he turned to him.

"We nearly leveled this entire building! None of these kids can go to school until this is all cleaned."

Impulse, who had been busy making sure that Metallo's head was nowhere to be found, chimed in then,

"School bites anyway."

"Yeah! We did them a favor if you ask me."

And then there was an explosion...

"...and then they think they can come in here and get away with it," Mr. Sprouse was still on his rant, "y'know boy, you an' I are a lot alike. We think the same, I can tell."

"Is that so? Mr. Sprouse, have you noticed anything...odd when you close up for the day?" Tim decided to get back on topic.

"Whatever you're lookin for, you're welcome to stay and look. The only reason why we kick em out as early as we do is so there's no sex on the desks after school. I'll let you stay though, since you're such a good kid and all."

He had been hoping to get on the man's good side or at least get some information from him,

"Thanks, that'd be great since I have so much homework I need to catch up on"

The old man winked and continued to walk down the hallway.

He remained standing in the hall as the sunset turned the halls a golden orange. The conversation just caused old memories to fill his head. Young Justice was like a far off memory to Tim..almost a dream. They had been so young and they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. But for that time, when everything seemed alright and everyone was alive and smiling, it was the best gig in the world. Things changed way too quickly. It would've been nice to stay in that state of bliss a little longer. Just doing what they did best without worrying about rules or death...

Suddenly Tim began to walk after the janitor. There was something...off. Once he turned the corner though, there wasn't an old man to be seen and not a squeak from his shoe heard. There, however, was the feeling of extreme drowsiness.

"How the–" Tim began before he could no longer grasp words or anything for that matter. Everything slowed to a stop. The last thing to go was his hearing, which disappeared after his body hit the ground with a thud.


	2. Bested

Thanks so much to the people who reviewed, it was appreciated a lot. Just to let everyone know, there are reasons why I'm telling this story in a certain way. I can't really explain that now. I just hope that this chapter is written better than the last. Sorry for any continuity error in advance. As much as I read comics, I don't remember every single detail about characters and of course I haven't read them all. I hope you all enjoy :)

Consciousness returned slowly as Tim's senses began to take a hold of the new environment. It smelt dirty. Keeping his eyes closed in case there were others around, he listened and heard a steady buzzing noise from what sounded like a generator. A slight shift of his arm led to a splashing sound. Damn, he was laying in a puddle of blood. He'd been hurt while unconscious. What should he do now? Call for help? Did he really have any choice?

He finally decided that observing the damage should be the first step. Tim hadn't heard or sensed anyone nearby, so he figured he was safe for now. Opening his eyes cautiously, he looked down.

Well this was embarrassing. It was nighttime and he was outside, behind what appeared to be a 7-11 with an old generator, lying on his back in a puddle of rainwater (he hoped) not blood. Can't everyone tell that he was trained by the World's Greatest Detective?

He leaned up, shaking his head, trying to clear away the remaining drowsiness. It didn't feel like any drug he recognized. (and he recognized a lot of drugs) That didn't matter at the moment though. What did matter was that somebody did something to make him lose consciousness and then end up here. But why?

Suiting up in one of his secret bunkers, Tim made it a top priority to find out. Now he knew for sure that there was something going on at that school and he wasn't going undercover this time.

Sneaking in was no big deal. In fact it was pretty easy. There were a few security guards, but they were all old-timers, cameras were pointed at only two entrances, and the windows had no alarms on them whatsoever. Guess the HUNT never thought that anyone would try to break into school. Tim was going to show them what a big mistake that was.

First the classrooms, then the bathrooms, the janitor's closets, the boiler room, and lastly the basement. Of course if there was an underground crime organization, it'd probably be in the basement, but Tim wanted to cover all of his bases.

He thoroughly searched each room, scanning the areas with trained eyes and careful fingers. Nothing went by him undetected: every name carved on the desks, every detention slip, every misplaced book. But there was nothing especially suspicious.

Which led to him to his final stop: the basement

There was only one door to it, so he had to be cautious. The last thing he needed was to allow a group of (probably armed) criminals to witness his entrance. Getting out of that one would be messy.

First he listened.

Nothing.

The door could be insulated or something, it meant nothing.

Next, he picked the lock.

Mentally preparing himself, Tim gingerly turned the doorknob until he heard a click that echoed lightly down the hallways. He waited another minute. The door didn't make a sound as he opened it an inch. Peering in, all he could see was darkness. He switched on night vision and took another look.

It was empty!

Tim opened the door completely and walked in, still braced for battle. But save for a few rats, the cement floors held nothing. No criminals, no doomsday machines, no documentation. Nothing.

This just made him feel worse about this whole thing. It was always better to find criminals red-handed with their guns and plans right away. This was bad. His gut told him that this was indeed the place...or it was. They must of known he was coming. These guys were thinking steps ahead of him.

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Tim made it back to Gotham still thinking it all over. He had been bested by someone. Not many were able to do that. Despite everything, he decided to go out on patrol regardless. The city could always use one more hand to help (right?)

It was a normal night. He was able to stop a few muggers, rapists, and drug dealers as the hours went by. Then on the docks, he spotted an illegal weapons shipment led by some goons he had put behind bars about a year ago. Keeping a good distance away, Tim was formulating a plan to take down the immense amounts of muscle they had lifting the shipments. He could hide in the shadows. Take down the toughest first with not too many noticing and then...

He wasn't fast enough, since a batarang came flying through the air and slashed one of the leader's shoulders. Tim's stomach sank a little. He definitely didn't want to run into him right now.

"You guys do realize that there was no way you were going to get away with this, right?" a cheerful voice mocked.

In an instant, a blur of black and violet entered the scene and knocked down to men with a double kick. The men charged mindlessly forward.

"I mean you guys just got out of prison for the same exact crime. It also doesn't help that it's not too far away from where you were originally busted and–"

A man with a long black beard had just swung a crowbar at her head. She promptly ducked and sent a knee into his gut.

"Maybe you guys should reevaluate you're choices in life is all I'm saying." she bantered as more men approached.

Tim was still getting used to seeing Stephanie in the batgirl costume AND being able to fight so well. He still didn't approve of it though. He should have stopped her as soon as she put on that Spoiler costume.

Half of the guys were down by the time he got there. That's not to say that she didn't have a few things to work on still. Tim saw a man behind her aiming a gun straight at her back. He launched a throwing knife before any move was made beyond that. Stephanie jumped around and sent a kick right to his jaw.

Knocking the last guy to the ground, Stephanie looked at Tim, annoyed. He supposed it was to mask her embarrassment.

"I saw him."

"You wouldn't of looked so surprised when I knocked the gun out of his hand then."

"I was more shocked that you were here. You have a way of disappearing and then reappearing months later y'know."

She folded her arms over her chest and looked away coldly.

"Yeah, I know, but I only leave when it's necessary. I can't exactly choose. I go where I'm needed. You know that." he reasoned.

Tim tried to look sincere, but with a cowl covering his face, it was pretty difficult. The domino mask tended to be a lot more assuring in these situations.

"So you think it's alright to just leave the people who care about you on a quest for this greater purpose? I mean I get why we do this and what the meaning behind it is, but why can't we do something for ourselves." she blurted out, beginning to pace.

"Uh, everything okay, Batgirl?" he inquired.

From the looks of her, he decided that bringing up the fact that she faked her own death and disappeared for a time wouldn't be in either of their best interests.

They were silent for awhile as her blue eyes met his masked ones. She seemed to come to some kind of conclusion in that moment as her gaze softened.

Stephanie turned around to leave, but turned back once more.

"Listen Boy Wonder, I know we don't exactly hang out like we used to, but you can come to me if you need anything. Nowadays, you seem so...lonely."

Before he could tell her not to call him "Boy Wonder", she got out her grappling hook and took off. She had gotten a lot better at that too.

Tim just looked up in the direction she went and after realizing he had seconds before the cops arrived, decided to take his leave too.

That little distraction may have been kind of nice, but that didn't mean he forgot what he was really working on.

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ELSEWHERE

"He's gotten even more suspicious."

"That was the plan."

"I'm still not seeing why that'd be a good thing"

"All in due time, child. All good plans must be executed slowly and in small steps. Soon it will all come together and you will witness the masterpiece."

"I look forward to it"

"Come. We have other things to attend to at this moment. We are done with Earth-1 for now."


	3. It's a Deal

There they were. Surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of soldiers clad in armor from the middle ages and awaiting their command to strike them down. Their weapons looked like artificial bones almost. They were definitely a mixture of magic and machine, giving off a soft green glow.

And here Tim thought that this wouldn't go down tonight. _Stupid_! Not only were the odds looking pretty bad, but the last thing he needed was to bring someone else into this mess. His eyes shifted from the soldiers to the one standing beside him. With the bow and three arrows in place, Speedy looked extremely focused on giving this her all.

"So you traveled half way across the world, trained with the best of the best, and fought against the League of Assassins, yet you led us straight into a simple ambush?"

"Shut up, Mia" was all he could get out before the order was given and the fight began.

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_48 Hours Earlier_

As soon as he got enough evidence, he would turn this case over to the Justice League. That's what Tim kept telling himself at least. Even he had to admit it had a little to do with pride, especially since he had trained the past year in order to become the best. Yet these guys were still better. Every single lead led to a dead end.

These guys must have a psychic or something with them. _There's no way I'm so predictable that they can be so far ahead of me, ESPECIALLY after the year I've been through. I have to be missing something. Something that'll make everything fit into place._

This wild goose chase took him all the way to Star City. Tim instantly wondered why there wasn't more help coming into this place. The entire city was in shambles. The attack of Prometheus nearly destroyed every single building. Crime had risen to almost Gotham levels and no one seemed to be doing anything about it. Well, there was someone trying to help, but it's hard to protect a city when you AND your civilian identity have been exiled from it. As much as murdering Prometheus was wrong, Tim couldn't help but feel bad for Green Arrow. The madman cut off Roy's arm, killed nearly 100,000 Star City residents, which included his grandchild. Green Arrow did what most would've done. Bruce wouldn't understand, and Tim never understood until recently. It's not like Tim never tried to kill someone for murdering a family member...

With that thought, Red Robin lept off a rooftop, heading straight for a mugging about to go very wrong.

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Sometimes she wondered to herself whether she should've killed the Electrocutioner or not. Oliver had trusted her. Roy had trusted her. Lian had trusted her... But she let her die. Then, because of that, Ollie killed Prometheus. Dinah left him afterwards. Her family was broken and it was all her fault.

And then she had a shot. She had her bow drawn and an arrow aimed right at the monster's head. He had flipped the switch that destroyed this city. He had done this. That was her chance to redeem herself. But she didn't. Ollie said no. Even though he himself had killed the mastermind behind it all.

Roy would never forgive her. Both for failing to protect Lian and failing to kill her murderer. This much became apparent as his remaining hand attempted to choke her at Lian's funeral. He was right, she did fail.

Now here she was, on the streets of Star City attempting to keep the crime at bay. It's tougher when you don't have back up.

"Mia Dearden, an offer awaits." an ominous sounding voice announced.

Speedy turned to see the Phantom Stranger standing about three feet away from her. _When'd he get here?!_

"Offer, huh? Sorry I don't take anything from strangers, especially not _phantom_ strangers." she quipped and went to walk away.

"This offer is not of my own. The giver is not wanting their identity to be known. But there is a chance at a resurrection in front of you, if you wish for it," the man pursued.

Mia felt like she had been slapped in the face a few hundred times, but since there weren't any speedsters around (within her knowledge), she figured it was just her mind attempting to grasp what was being said. Could he mean–?

"Lian Harper will be brought back, but in return there is something that must be done by you." he continued before she could ask.

Damn. There was always a catch with these guys, but she didn't care at this point.

"If whoever you're talking about can bring Lian back, I will do anything they ask. Just name it."

"There is one in the city who must be with you during this. He is also a part of this as well. Search him out, and from there you will be directed," the stranger then began to glow slightly, " As for the child, look near her graveside tonight and she will be there. Fail to do what you promised and she will die instantly"

With this, he began to disappear.

"Wait! Aren't you going to give me the name of the person in the city or at least give me a hint as to where the hell he is!?" Mia shouted.

"I am a only messenger. You will recognize the person. Although, he is not of this city."

The words were like a whisper in the wind.

Mia suddenly understood why that guy pissed Ollie off so much. Saying ominous-ass things and then disappearing while leaving you to figure out what the hell you're supposed to do. Suddenly, it hit her. Lian was back! Speedy ran off as fast as she could.

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Roy had been wandering around for awhile now. Beating up anyone who even thought about trying to hurt someone else on his way. Well, except a few dealers. They had a new shipment in and boy did it look good. He could feel it in his pockets and was just waiting to go somewhere and know a little peace for awhile.

"You're pretty hard to find y'know"

Roy turned his head towards the person stupid enough to bother him tonight. Although he hadn't had any good nights for awhile, tonight was especially bad.

"Mia," he growled, taking in the girl in the black and yellow outfit. He felt a surge of anger come through him. That all changed as soon as he noticed someone else there as well.

"Daddy!" Lian cried and ran out from behind Mia.

Roy's eyes softened automatically and took Lian up in his arms.

"Lian..." he barely choked out.

"Daddy, what happened to your arm," she inquired after feeling the cold metal against her.

"I-It's alright. Dad just got into another accident is all," he easily slipped back into the father role. Suddenly the drugs meant nothing, the Titans meant nothing, all that happened meant nothing.

"Someone beat you up again?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I'm okay. Everything's okay now, Etai Yazi."

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After explaining to Roy what had happened, Mia left. She figured he deserved some time with Lian alone. Mia also left out the catch of it. Mostly because she didn't even understand what the catch was. What she did know was that she had to find someone in Star City who was also involved.

In the midst of her search, she was often distracted by the street crimes. Mia was trying to calm a gang riot when she saw a batarang shoot into one of the gun wielding men's hand.

_Bat–?_

Red Robin came down on two others about to sneak up on her, knocking them both out.

"Thanks, Robin," she said while realizing this was probably her guy. He wasn't from around here and she definitely recognized him.

"_Red_ Rob–. Get down!" he jumped on top of her, just in time to dodge a huge flame that would've barbecued them.

Red Robin sent another batarang towards the guy with the flamethrower.

"Should I even ask why common street thugs have weapons like these here?" he asked her sounding slightly annoyed.

"People are at their lowest right now and the weapons manufacturers know that. The sellers are rushing things like this on the market everyday to make the city "safer" or whatever. As you can see, all it's causing is more death." Speedy explained, while taking out another flamethrower with an arrow in time to hit yet another guy trying to sneak up behind her in the jaw with her bow.

She looked over and saw one last gang member conscious. Red Robin grabbed the terrified guy by his shirt and threw him into the nearby brick wall. With his escrima sticks against his throat.

"What was this all about?" These words came out as a menacing growl from Red Robin. Mia couldn't believe how much like Batman he really had become. She knew he went away to train for a year and all, but she knew Robin from the Teen Titans. He was never quite so dark.

"I ain't telling you nothing!" the guy sneered. Big mistake.

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The interrogation lasted for a few minutes. Mia felt like it lasted a few hours. She was actually scared _for_ that guy.

In the end, they had gotten good information though. Turns out there was some kind of business going down on a rooftop, downtown somewhere. It had to do with some kind of organization that Red Robin seemed to be aware of already. Normally this would be where Mia would take her leave, knowing when she was not wanted nor needed. But the deal was she had to find him and then "go" with him or something. If the Phantom had just been a little clearer...

"I can handle this from here, Speedy," Tim assured her, fully expecting her to take her leave as they were swinging towards downtown.

"Actually you can color me curious, Robin. I'd like to get a better look at these guys. They are in _my_ city after all." she answered, ignoring the Bat-glare telling her to beat it as she continued to follow him.

They landed on the rooftop at the same time.

"You mean _Green Arrow's_ city." he hissed out (mostly in frustration that she just wouldn't leave)

"I meant my city as in I live here and I'm entitled to know what's going on. Trust me when I tell you I know who this city's true guardian is." Mia asserted. She wasn't about to let a Bat get to her. Ollie had let her know that that was exactly what they did to try to manipulate others. It wouldn't work on her. She wouldn't lea– Oh crap.

Speedy wondered to herself when exactly they had been surrounded, but one look at Red Robin told her that he was just as surprised as she was.

"So you traveled half way across the world, trained with the best of the best, and fought against the League of Assassins, yet you led us straight into a simple ambush?"

"Shut up, Mia"

As the first move was made, they sprang into action.


End file.
